Abstract

The city of Zarghan is located 25 km northeast of Shiraz, Southern Iran. Two major industries are producing melamine resin, located within two kilometres from Zarghan residential area. Formaldehyde is the major chemical compound used in these industries. Since formaldehyde is known as a human carcinogen, there is a concern about its high concentration and also its distribution in Zarghan residential area and the serious health risk associated with the exposure to the chemical. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the concentration of formaldehyde and determine its dispersion in Zarghan residential area by GIS. Passive sampling method was used to measure the concentration of formaldehyde at ten monitoring stations. The results showed that the formaldehyde concentration near these industries was 38.1 µgm&minus;3. Interpolation using GIS showed that the concentration of pollutants at 1,400 m from the point sources was still in the standard limit of 10 µgm&minus;3.